Page 114 of Cloudless
Love always.
Lila
CHAPTER 55
I NEED YOU
LILA
“What an asshole!” Shuffling accompanies Ellie’s annoyance from her end of the phone call. “I can’t believe he had theaudacityto say that to you! If I get arrested for assault, will you bail me out? I’m pretty sure Kam would leave me there for a few days to teach me a lesson.”
I laugh as I gather the last of the clean towels from the dryer. “Always, E. I wouldn’t leave you there. That’s not safe for the other inmates.”
I can practically hear her eyes roll through my earbuds. “I grew up with a giant for a brother. Fighting dirty was a necessity. What do you people expect from me?”
The overloaded laundry basket digs into my arm as I close the dryer with my hip. “We love you just the way you are, and you know it.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see how it is. Butter me up so I’ll bring the good cookies to book club. I expected better from you, L.”
I blow a stray strand of hair out of my face as I move through the living room with the basket tucked securely under my arm. “Speaking of book club, do you have a final head count? I need to know how many bookmarks to make.”
Am I using our new book club to distract me from the impending court date? Yes. Yes, I am.
She blows out a deep breath that sounds like static on the phone. “I think it’ll just be me, you, Valley, and her friend Jade for this first meeting. Everyone else went home for Thanksgiving and got stuck there from the snow.”
I eye the banner Posey and I made last night. The colorful letters spelling outSummit & Spines Book Clubcontrasting against the white paper shine brightly in the morning sun. I’m thankful for the brief rays that will soon disappear behind another set of snow clouds. “Maybe that’s for the best, since we have no idea what we’re doing.”
“It’ll be great no matter how many people show up. You’re going toloveValley. She is seriously the sweetest.”
I raise my brows even though she can’t see me. “What about her friend? Her name is Jade, right?”
The only sign of her shrug is a rustling of fabric. “Not sure. I’ve never met her. Hopefully, she’s not a psycho or something.”
Cold air seeps through the floorboards and up through my socks as I make my way down the hall. “I sure hope not! What time are you planning on coming over? You better not leave me alone in my house with two strangers. I—” My words stall in my mouth as wetness seeps through my sock. I close my eyes and take deep, calming breaths as I try not to freak out from the horrible sensation of cold liquid squishing between my toes. “You’vegotto be kidding me.”
“What? What happened?”
“Someonemust have spilled something in the hallway and not cleaned it up.” Liquid drips from my drenched sock as I lift my foot from the ground. The stealthy puddle blends with the shadows of the hall, making it difficult to find a dry spot to sit my basket. I peel the soaked sock from my foot as I flip the lightswitch to the hall light. “What the hell?” A thin trail of water leads from the puddle by my feet into the hall bathroom.
“You’re killing me here, L.”
My damp foot leaves a trail of wet prints in my wake as I move into the bathroom the twins share. “It looks like it’s coming from the bathroom.” The chill of the cold tile seeps into my very soul as I flip the switch to illuminate the tiny room. My stomach sinks as I follow the wet grout line that leads right to the exterior wall. “I think I’ve got a problem here.”
Her curiosity turns to concern on the other end of the call. “What do you mean? Did they spill something red? Oh! I bet Jasper dropped his popsicle again.”
I shake my head even though she still can’t see me. “Nope. It’s worse than that. Much, much worse than that.”
“Just spit it out, L.”
My eyes trace the path of the water, hoping to find a different result. “I think I have a water leak. It looks like it’s coming from the wall that connects to the backyard.”
I can hear the cringe in her voice. “Shit.”
I shake my head as the water on the floor turns to dollar signs. “Yeah, shit. How much is something like this going to cost to fix?”
“I don’t know. What are you going to do?”
Call Kam.
